Johnny Pesky passed away about an hour ago. He was 92 years old.Posted by ThefourBs

Got to meet him during a Spring Training game in Florida as a teen ager. Came away with two broken bats given to my brother and me, Juan Beniquez and a kid named Jim Rice. (Fisk broke his hand in that game, hit by a pitch) Mr. Pesky also signed my program as did Manager Johnson, Tim McCarver, Rico Petrocelli and other Sox, still have it. Mister Pesky was that day and forever forward in my mind, the epitomy of the best of Red Sox Nation and baseball in general. I have always told and showed my son that Mister Pesky was the ultimate in baseball grace, as a player and a part of the Sox organization. The Pesky pole was appropriate, now how about the Hall of Fame. A lifetime .307 hitter, he also served his country in the war. But his player stats and his longevity in the game in various functions merit, in my humble opinion, consideration for the Hall of Fame.In a world of whining millionaires, Pesky's presence on the field brought you back to a simpler time in the game, when guys actually left uncertain futures to play a boy's game for fun and yes some money. They often worked second off-season jobs, Radatz a Teamster. Mister Pesky and I use Mister as the highest honor, you will be missed. Thank you for your act of generosity years ago, thank you for continuing to be an Ambassador of Baseball in the highest order, thank you for being a gentle human being, thanks for being a hell of a ballplayer. An Icon for the Ages in Red Sox Nation.The mold has been broken.